This is what it feels like to die – by people who have been there (and come back)

Rob Waugh

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When you die, you shouldn’t expect to see people on clouds with harps, or some kindly old guy with a beard welcoming you to heaven.
People who have been clinically dead and then revived have shared some insights into what it actually feels like to die on question-and-answer site Quora.
Most of these people ended up hospitalised – and were revived either at the brink of death, or after the moment of clinical death.
Some of these near-death experiences sound really serene and pleasant – others, much less so.

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Megan: ‘I’ve had a near-death experience, so I can only say how dying feels – blissful, serene, exciting, peaceful, relaxing. I feel there isn’t an accurate word (in English) that describes how truly wonderful it feels.

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Barbara: ‘Although I could hear perfectly – the beeping of the monitor as I flatlined, the code on the PA, the squeak-squeak of the crash cart wheels, everyone talking at once – I had no other sensation.
‘As I was sinking into unconsciousness, I felt very cool, relaxed, no need to breathe, no cause for alarm, no pain of any kind, totally peaceful. Everything grew dark around the edges until there was only blackness.

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Vera: ‘It felt like being rising up, with a definite sense of direction, and inhaling and expanding. I tried to look at myself, but I was not there.
‘That shocked me, but did not scare me. Also, I did not feel alone. There were “others” whom I could not see, but only knew that they were there because they “talked” to me.
‘It was as if they were encouraging and welcoming me. I felt this infinite vastness, but also the absence of time, like everything was collapsed into a zero and happened at the same time.
‘The last thing I remember is wanting to be somewhere else and being instantly there, and that surprised me and delighted me. I was so infinitely happy.’

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Emmanuel. There was no pain, just darkness, extreme vulnerability, extreme fragility and nothing else. It wasn’t even revolting or scary. Just infinite sadness and nothingness. After a while in intensive care, my life came back to me.

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Dea: After a few minutes, my cousin sort of popped right in front of me and told me, ‘Deanne, go back’. I haven’t been called Deanne since I was a kid. When I turned round to see what she meant by ‘back’, I Was slammed into the bed at the hospital.

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Aaron: Several years ago, I flatlined at the emergency room. My senses left me one by one. First thing I noticed gone was my sense of touch. Followed by hearing. THe last thing to go was my sight, leaving me with a field of whiteness, and thoughts which seemed to be further and further apart.

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Terrance: I had an experience. There’s no bright light. Jesus didn’t appear through the fot. It’s just an acceptance of reality, a definiteend, like finishing a book. I just felt life slipping away, getting really tired, and all I could think of whs the things I didn’t accomplish.